Paralympics 2024: TT star Bhavina Patel eases into class 4 quarterfinals

Paris: India's Bhavina Patel, the silver medallist in the Tokyo edition, entered the quarterfinals of the women's singles class 4 table tennis event at the Paralympics with a 3-0 win over Mexico's Martha Verdin here on Sunday.

Bhavina blanked Martha 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 in a round of 16 contest. The 37-year-old athlete from Gujarat will now face defending champion Ying Zhou of China in the quarterfinals.

The Chinese had beaten Bhavina in the final of the Tokyo Paralympics.

The Class 4 athletes compete sitting on a wheelchair with functional arms and hands. Their impairment could be due to a lower-spinal cord lesion or cerebral palsy.

Bhavina was diagnosed with polio at a young age. Her journey in the world of para table tennis started when she won the nationals in 2009.

She did not look back from thereon. Bhavina is a gold medallist in the 2022 Para Commonwealth Games and a bronze medallist at the 2022 Para Asian Games.